Death has come to this ranking.
Halloween Ends slashed its way into theaters yesterday. This new trilogy of Halloween finally comes to a close, as does Jamie Lee Curtis's time as Laurie Strode. This trilogy has ended up being very divisive, so my ranking will probably be controversial. That said, here's all four final Halloween movies ranked.
4. Halloween Ends
Terrible. Absolutely god awful. Halloween Ends chooses to sideline Michael Myers in his final battle with Jamie Lee Curtis's Laurie Strode. Beyond that, all logic and tension are given up for a soap opera-y teenage romance that you don't buy into. The main character of this movie isn't Laurie. It isn't Michael. It isn't even Allyson. It's this new guy, Corey Cunningham, who is just in the wrong movie. This film failed the Halloween franchise. I hate it.
3. Halloween Kills
Halloween Kills was number one on this list last year. Part of that was recently bias. The other part of that was a fun theater experience. Upon rewatch...this movie isn't great. I still have fun with it. I still LOVE Michael in this movie. But the story and screenplay are really, really problematic. The whole subplot with the escaped prisoner who people think is Michael is just dumb. The dialogue for Tommy Doyle and co. is terrible. And Laurie Strode has, like, ten minutes of screentime. It very much suffers from middle chapter syndrome. I feel like they should've just eliminated this film and made Halloween Ends (albeit, a better version of Halloween Ends).
2. Halloween (2018)
2018's Halloween goes back to the original formula. It is effective because of David Gordon Green's direction. Michael Myers is brutal and unforgiving in this movie. But the real standout here is our new, badass Laurie Strode who has been preparing for this standoff for forty years. The result is a chilling slasher that doesn't feel original, but is fun nonetheless. There are a lot of problems with this movie. It's not great. But it is a solid return to form for the Halloween franchise.
1. Halloween
The original Halloween is considered one of the greatest horror movies ever made, and for good reason. This film is the perfect example of taking a simple concept and just executing it so well. We are introduced to one of the greatest fictional villains of all time here. John Carpenter crafts a slow-burn of tension as Michael stalks Laurie throughout the day and eventually goes in for the kill. The score elevated this movie to a whole new level. Halloween is the standard for slashers, a standard that is rarely met nowadays.